In September this year, Amsterdam’s star of sampling and twisted grooves, Solex, returned with her new album The Laughing Stock of Indie Rock. I met up with the woman behind the name, Elisabeth Esselink in the basement of her Amsterdam record shop The C&D to chat about her past, present and future.
What originally took you away from your history in rock music and playing in bands to switch to playing with electronica and sampling?
I think it was because it’s the only way you can play more instruments at the same time. It’s a great way to make songs. Sometimes when you’re in a band, every musician often has ideas about what the others should be playing - the guitarist always has an opinion of what the drummer should play and the drummer always has an opinion of what the guitarist should play. But once you have that sampler you can do everything you want. It means there’s a lot less frustration during the song crafting stage.
Were there specific artists that inspired you also?
It was mainly the fact that there were musicians out there who could make complete songs with a sampler which was most inspiring to me. It made me realize what was possible and that I could try it as well. In hip-hop, for example, it’s very normal. I wasn’t very into hip-hop at the time, but I thought, “If you can make that type of song, then you can make any type of song.” And it’s true. You aren’t limited to a specific genre. There are people out there using samplers for everything but they do it so organically and so well. With me you can still hear the loops, although not so much on the new record. On the first records you can obviously hear them and hear what was all sampled. But if you’re very clever with it then people can’t tell.
When you created the first demos back then, did no-one local pick up on it as something interesting and special?
I didn’t actually send it to anyone in Holland. I thought if I could get a deal in another country then it would be released in Holland anyway, and that appears to be true. But I had also realized that with the music I make that I will never get a huge audience for it. Most Dutch bands who go abroad have already conquered the whole Dutch audience and the record company thinks, “Oh, maybe it will do okay in another country as well.” I realized that would never happen, so I tried to do it the other way around.
Did you ever have much musical ambition when you were younger to actually seek out a life as a successful musician?
No, never. If you are young and thinking of having a career as a pop musician, you should probably get some help. The chances are just so slim for you to succeed. Personally, I don’t know how long I’ll keep on doing it. I realize it’s very insecure and very fashion oriented. There are so many factors that come into play with it all, but I’ll just keep on doing what I do until no-one buys it anymore, or maybe if I stop liking it.
How exciting was it for you when you first got signed by Matador Records?
I was completely hyper, happy and excited. I had never been to America or really traveled, and then I just traveled and toured so much. It was a great period. It was also overwhelming. I probably didn’t sleep for about three days after I got that first phone call from Gerard Cosloy.
How did your family and friends react? Was it strange for them that you were suddenly going abroad to tour?
They were excited for me. They thought it was great. When I showed them pictures they were impressed but it’s very hard to explain what it is to tour. In every country it’s very different. Touring England has different sides to it from touring in America, so every country has its pros and cons. The one thing that’s always the same is that you get into a certain rhythm. You drive, you soundcheck, you eat, you play, you drive to the hotel, you wake up, and you drive. So you’re not in touch with the world at all. You read newspapers but it’s like living in a vacuum for two months.
Did going abroad then make the Dutch audience take you more seriously?
Yeah, they probably wouldn’t have taken me seriously otherwise. If I had signed to a Dutch company they’d maybe have thought, “Ah, that’s nice,” but then not really bother. If you sign to a foreign label then they’ll think, “Oh, what do they hear that we don’t?” Some people may have thought it was arrogant. It is a kind of arrogance, but I know if I hadn’t done things this way that my records wouldn’t have been out around the world.
When you first began, was Solex ever intended to be a live band?
It was very vague to me actually. When I got signed to Matador I talked to the owners and they said it would really help us if I would play live because it would make it easier for them to promote and sell the album. But they also said if I didn’t want to then that’s also fine. So I had this option to remain purely electronic. Yet I had a long history of playing in bands all the time so I really wanted to try to do it. I thought it could be fun.
So I started with Robert Lagendijk on drums and it was pretty electronic. It worked well, but after a while I was really missing the guitar, so I asked Geert de Groot and he joined as well. I didn’t really have an idea how it would turn out. It’s a strange influence now also because when I made the following records, I started to think, “How am I going to pull this off live?” But I do try to prevent it from influencing the songwriting too much.
Now the line-up is changing a bit?
Yeah, it’s different now for the first time. Geert has a little baby which makes it hard for him to tour and Robert has also got a steady job. So I asked Marit de Loos who is the drummer of Caesar and we’ve been rehearsing as a duo. She will do lots of singing as well but we still have to practice that. It will also be a little bit more electronic than before because there will be no guitar. I’ll have the laptop, a moog, the sampler. She will play drums and we’ll both sing.
What else has been happening since the last tour in 2002?
Well I did a collaboration with the Maarten Altena Ensemble. They’re a modern classical ensemble and he’s a Dutch classical/jazz composer. I took all the recordings he had made over his 20-year career, and I slowly built a new piece of music about half an hour long by combining samples from his songs. Then he orchestrated the new score and we performed it live together. We also did another recording of that piece, which will be released in January as an In the Fishtank album. It’s not very poppy and definitely different.
I’ve also made a piece for cell phones for the Deventer PTT Fanfare. Each musician will have a cell phone to play and will hopefully press the right button at the right time when the conductor, Bart Voortman, signals it. They also play in their uniforms, which is very funny to watch. Oh, and I also created some sounds for Dutch children’s TV.
Moving on to the new record, why the title The Laughing Stock of Indie Rock?
I haven’t really given a straight answer to anyone yet as I don’t completely know. It’s about how… well it’s partly that I just get sick of people who are too political about liking music. “You should like this band but you cannot like that band,” etc. So it’s a bit about that.
Has your songwriting process altered much for this release?
It’s very different. The former records are very electronic and the live thing was more with real instruments. But this record sounds a lot more like a band and the live setting will be more electronic. Everything has flipped around.
Are you still using as many samples?
There are still a lot of samples, but it’s no longer the main focus anymore. There’s a lot of Moog.
Would you ever go back to analogue equipment and tape splicing?
No. This is the first record I’ve made on a computer actually, using ProTools. The 16-track was really nice and I still use it for effects, but editing is so much easier on the computer. It’s great.
What plans do you have for your new Discmeister label?
I would really like to release some other artists as well as my own records, but first I have to make some money with it. It’s no use to release records without selling them. So I just have to wait and see how this record does. There are some musicians I would really like to release, but first I have to wait.
Why start the label now?
I was just thinking that if I will ever start a label in my life then this is the right time to do it. I am very nervous about it of course, but Konkurrent who are the distributors have helped me out a lot, and they tell me what to do and what not to do. I hope they’re right. I hope it will work out, even if it’s maybe not the best climate to start a label. I’ll just try to keep the costs as low as possible so the break even point can be reached.
Are you more nervous or excited about everything?
I think I am more nervous. I am excited as well, though, so maybe it’s equal. I’ll just be glad that it’s out because it took longer than I wanted it to. I thought that two years after …Low Kick was a good period to release another record but that came out Sept 11, 2001. Now it’s three years later so I’m one year behind schedule.
Are you looking forward to also playing live around Holland again?
There are many bands from this country that I really like and that I enjoy playing live with. It’s just I don’t really play live as often over here. I always feel a little embarrassed. Your friends feel obliged to come and to say they like it. It’s always embarrassing but you still have to do it. It’s a bit like going to your own party. You can’t enjoy it because there’s so much on your mind.
Steven McCarron
Photo: Robert Lagendijk
This is the full transcript of an interview which was originally published in the Amsterdam Weekly on September 15, 2004.
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